


Beside Each Other The Entire Time

by tigerseye46



Category: LEGO Monkie Kid
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Swearing, Tang and Pigsy are oblivious idiots and I live for it, Wukong can't shut his mouth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:48:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29454798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigerseye46/pseuds/tigerseye46
Summary: Wukong was visiting the shop to talk to the adults he had heard so much about from the kid. Apparently, MK had told Wukong a lot about Pigsy and Tang. This wouldn't be a problem if Pigsy wasn't Zhu Bajie and Tang wasn't Tripitaka, it had been centuries since they had last seen him and each other. They were nervous on where this would lead. The second Wukong stepped through the door, they heard “Oh hi brother Bajie, hello Master! Hey brother Wujing!” WAIT, WHAT?! Pigsy was Bajie and Tang was Tripitaka? Tang was in trouble, he might have mentioned how much he loved Bajie when he was telling his stories to MK, uh.... oops? (Based off this idea https://winterpower98.tumblr.com/post/641910376269824000/what-if-pigsy-were-zhu-baije-and-tang-were)
Relationships: Pigsy/Tang, Pigsy/Tripitaka, freenoodleshipping
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	Beside Each Other The Entire Time

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Happy Valentine’s Day! Been a few days/a week since I've written on here. I've been doing some prompts on my Tumblr and working on some fics. Hope you enjoy this one! I got the idea from this post https://winterpower98.tumblr.com/post/641910376269824000/what-if-pigsy-were-zhu-baije-and-tang-were and from what I was discussing with WinterPower in the comments! Check WinterPower out, she is an amazing artist and her and her anons have wonderful ideas!

It was only a few days ago when Xiaotian had informed them that the Monkey King wanted to meet them. Apparently, the kid had told him a lot about the two adults and Wukong wanted to meet the other adults that were also raising his kid. They were planning to meet in the noodle shop today, Pigsy had even closed up early to get everything ready. That damn monkey better be happy, Pigsy thought, the chef didn’t usually like to close his shop early unless it was an emergency, but a part of Pigsy wanted this to go well, it had been too long since he had last seen his older brother and he wanted to make sure their reuniting dinner would go well. He was slightly pissed at his brother for disappearing but he was also scared, scared that this could go wrong. 

He also thought of his master, oh his master. He hadn’t seen him in forever, not since he left Heaven. He wondered if it would make him happy that they were all together again. Pigsy missed his master deeply, hopefully, he was happy. It had always filled him with warmth when Tang talked about their adventures because it was another reminder of his beautiful master. He had to prevent himself from smiling whenever his master was mentioned which was a lot. The only time he didn’t like hearing about the stories is when it affected MK and his ability to do his job.

Pigsy was setting up the rest of the stuff in the shop when he took a glance at Tang. Tang had been pacing around for a while now. Weird… maybe Tang was just nervous because he was finally meeting the Monkey King who he had told so many stories about. Tang was extremely knowledgeable about the journey and extremely detailed. In fact, he knew about small details that weren’t even mentioned, Pigsy dismissed it as Tang getting lucky with information. Tang always gave a great description of everything, especially the way he would describe Pigsy, “handsome” he would always call him. Barely anyone described him as “handsome” but Tang was just a huge fan, nothing more to it. Tang’s pacing made him nervous. He sent Tang another glance then went back to what he was doing.

Tang had no idea what he was doing. He was panicking inside, he was going to meet his disciple after a long time. He hadn’t spoken to him since he had last disappeared. Would he recognize him? He had no clue. Tang wanted to hug him when he showed up but he had never told anyone who he was. Hugging his disciple out of the blue would definitely raise questions from the others and he didn’t want to risk it. He could get Wukong alone and talk to him. He just wanted to see his disciples again, it had been ages since he had seen Wukong, Bajie, or Wujing. He missed them, he truly did. The Buddhist gazed at Pigsy, there were times Pigsy was remarkably similar to his Bajie but thankfully Pigsy wasn’t Bajie so Tang could sneak as many details about his beloved as he wanted like how handsome Bajie was or how much he loved him. The namesakes were nice but he missed his two youngest disciples, hopefully, they were doing well.

Maybe he could steal some noodles from Pigsy while he waited. Pigsy was distracted after all and it wouldn’t hurt to get something to calm his nerves. Could he wait until later? Sure, he could but did he want to? No. The noodles helped ease his nervousness and they were delicious. Plus, it was hilarious to see the look on Pigsy’s face as he stole some.

There were a few moments of precious silence until MK came bursting with Sandy in tow. MK exclaimed, “He’s almost here! Is everything ready?”

Pigsy rolled his eyes. “Yea, kid. Everythin’ is ready.” Of course, everything was ready, Pigsy knew what he was doing. MK’s eyes sparkled at the response, Pigsy sighed. His kid was way too excited about this whole thing.

Sandy went up to his older brother and whispered, “Are you ready to see oldest brother again?”

Pigsy thought for a second before replying with “I guess… too bad master isn’t here to see this.” He missed his master a lot, his adorable face, his perfect blush, everything. He wanted to hug him and never let go. The pig’s face turned pink at the thought of his master.

Sandy tilted his head. “What do you mean, big brother?”

“Nothin’.... hope this thing goes well.” Tang stood beside Pigsy, his feet rocking back and forth in anticipation. Pigsy stared at him with a raised eyebrow, Tang was acting fucking weird today. “Ya okay, Tang?”

“I’m fine, Ba- Pigsy. Perfectly fine.” He held in his breath, hoping Pigsy didn’t notice the almost slip up.

“Okay…” He turned back to the entrance of the shop then Tang out a breath of relief, he leaned into Pigsy who grunted and wrapped an arm around his waist. Sandy smiled at them even now they looked like the picture of the perfect couple.

It wouldn’t be long now until Wukong showed up. The two of them tensed up as each second passed.

Finally, Wukong entered with a prideful stance, hand over his chest and eyes closed. He declared, “It is I, the Great Monkey King! It’s finally nice to meet the two adults I’ve heard so much about from the kid. Heard a lot of great things.” He opened his eyes to take a look at them. He observed them for a few seconds, sweat dripping down Tang and Bajie’s faces but a part of Pigsy wanted to scoff, damn show off. Wukong transitioned to a smile and put up his hand to wave. “Oh hi brother Bajie, hello Master! Hey brother Wujing!”

Wujing eagerly waved back to his oldest brother. MK’s eyes turned to his parents, his eyes still containing the same sparkle in them along with genuine surprise. Tang and Pigsy stared at Wukong in shock, their mouths open as they tried to process what the monkey had just said. He had recognized them instantly… but wait what else had he just said? 

“WHAT? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?” They both yelled. 

Wukong cocked his head. “I just said hi to the three of you. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you three.”

Hold on, hold on… was Wukong saying that… that Pigsy was Bajie… that Tang is Tripitaka?

Pigsy quickly gestured towards Tang. “Hold on… are ya tellin’ me that Tang is our master?”

“And you’re… you’re telling me that Pigsy is Bajie?”

A blush was left on both of their cheeks. They exchanged awkward glances before looking away. 

Wujing spoke up with “Wait… you two didn’t know? I thought you knew so I never said anything…” The two glared at him, Pigsy’s eye twitched. Wujing fiddled with his fingers. Ohhhh, they didn’t know… he assumed they did by their flirting… he could have said something the entire time. He nervously chuckled. “Um, I’m in danger.” Their glares deepened.

Tang scolded him, “You’re damn right you’re in danger! I am talking with you later, young man!” He pointed at Sandy with a threatening glare, the fish demon whimpered. Tang then looked at Pigsy and shut his mouth.

Wukong instantly realized what happened, he got on his tail and cackled. “HOW…. HOW DID YOU TWO NOT KNOW?” He asked during his laughter. This was so funny, how did they not know? This was not how he expected this to go but it was perfect. Fuck, it was too perfect. “IT’S SO OBVIOUS!” He wheezed. Their faces turned redder. 

MK stepped forward towards his dads. “WOW! So my dads are Tripitaka and Bajie? Wow! How did you two not realize? What have you both been doing since the journey? How did you two meet up again?” MK asked question after question, oblivious to his dads’ silence. “What cool stories do you have other than the journey? Isn’t Tripitaka supposed to be in Heaven, why aren’t you? I mean it is cool that you’re here!” They couldn’t answer their son, they had no idea what to say. They stared wide-eyed.

Sandy grabbed MK and gently started dragging him away. “Ummm… we should let them talk…” He carried the kid in his arms.

MK glanced at Wujing. “Okay! Bye dads!” He waved to them.

Wukong was still laughing in the background, he was rolling around on the ground. “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU TWO DIDN’T NOTICE!” 

Wujing glared at his oldest brother. “You too, big brother.”

“Hey! I want to see what happens next! This is entertaining!” He shook more with laughter.

“Let’s go.” He dragged Wukong by the tail.

“Hey, remember don’t make out in front of the kid!” Wukong teased. The fish demon took both MK and Wukong out, sending his master and his brother a worried look as he did so. They could hear Wukong’s cackling as he was dragged outside.

The two stayed in awkward silence. They shared glances at each other, opening their mouths to speak but no words coming out and then they would look away. A mix of emotions ran through both of them, they were so confused and overthinking every little thing.

So Tang really had been telling stories in front of the actual Bajie… oh, oh no… this means… “Oh shit…” Tang mumbled. He had accidentally revealed how he felt… Pigsy was going to reject him, wasn’t he? Tang held in tears, he should have known… there were times when Pigsy would mutter about “that stupid monkey,” “how his master was very clumsy,” and other things along those lines. How did he not realize?! He thought it was a coincidence. Tang rubbed his arm nervously, he was scared for when Bajie finally said something. He had put so much focus on Bajie in the stories, so much detail, he basically told Bajie how he felt about him to his face. Every story, he had gushed about Pigsy in some form. If he had analyzed Pigsy’s mutterings earlier then he would have guessed it.

At the same time, Pigsy was freaking out. He should have known. The way Tang always told those stories, he should have known. He included small details that weren’t even mentioned in any of the books! He always talked about the journey as if he was there personally! He thought Tang was just a huge fan! He never would have guessed that the same freeloader that lived with him and secretly stole noodles from him was his master, the same master that made his heart skip a beat, but he should have guessed! Oh, my gods, his master called him handsome… What did that mean? WHAT DID THAT MEAN? Tang had said so many things about him like how he was cute, charming, nice blue eyes, great humor… oh my gods… OH, MY GODS! DID HIS MASTER LIKE HIM? The gears turned in the pig’s head. It… it made sense, his master liked him. ‘He liked me. He liked me and I never realized that! I am so stupid.’ Pigsy thought. He clenched his fists, his master liked him, now it was plain as day, how did he not realize before?

Tang decided at that moment to look at Bajie again and noticed a dark look on the pig’s face. What he saw scared him, he no longer had a confused look upon his face, other than the pig having his fists clenched, he had his eyebrows furrowed and was angrily staring at a wall. Tang shook with fear. Was Pigsy angry with him? Was he angry that he never told him that he was Tripitaka? Did he realize that Tang had feelings for him? Bajie preferred women over him, he could understand why his male master being in love with him might make Pigsy angry, he was definitely going to get rejected and he deserved it. He didn’t tell Pigsy who he was when they first met up again, didn’t tell him that he was in love with him, maybe if he did any of those things, Pigsy wouldn’t be so pissed, pissed at being tricked for so long and the rejection he would have faced would be over quick. Tang had fucked up and he knew it too.

‘Stupid, stupid, stupid.’ The demon repeated that over and over in his head. How could he be so blind? His master, Tang, liked him and wow, a rush of emotions was hitting him all at once. He was ecstatic but also angry at himself for never noticing in the first place. His beautiful master liked him, how long had he waited for Wuneng to notice? Wuneng was supposed to be the more romantic one out of the group and he didn’t know his master had liked him all along. He was fucking stupid, at that moment, he wanted to punch himself, it was so obvious. He turned his attention to Tang, not realizing he had that same angry look on his face.

Oh fuck, Pigsy was looking at him and he was angry. Tang began backing away from him and trembled. He rapidly spat out apologies. “I’m sorry Bajie… I should have told you that I was… you know Tripitaka. I didn’t even realize it was you… which doesn’t justify it… I… I… You don’t have to return my feelings just because I’m your master! I’m sorry I never told you! I know you’re angry!”

‘Wait, ya think I’m angry?” Pigsy wanted to ask, nothing slipped past his lips. The mix of anger and confusion on his face as he continued to stare at his master.

Tang burst into tears at Pigsy’s lack of response. Pigsy’s eyes widened, his master was crying. “Why did I ever think you would return my feelings? I know… it’s stupid. You only have ever looked at women… not… not me… I’m an idiot…” He let out a bitter laugh as he cried. “It was obvious you were never going to feel the same way. I fucked up… I’M SORRY!” Tang apologized then he bolted out of the noodle shop.

Pigsy reached out for him. “Tang… master...” but it was no use, Tripitaka was long gone. Pigsy clutched his heart and stared at the ground, what was he supposed to say? Pigsy wanted to run after him but his feet were stuck. He should have run after him. He was an idiot. He stayed there heartbroken until Wujing, Wukong, and Xiaotian came back.

Wukong wiped a tear from his eyes as he came in. “So, did you two finally make out?” He searched around. “Wait… where’s master?”

Pigsy stared at him. “He’s… he’s gone…”

Wukong gasped. “What do you mean gone?”

MK asked, “Where did bába go?”

Wujing asked, “Big brother?”

The pig simply looked down. “I… I scared him off. I didn’t know what to say when he started apologizin’ for nothin’ then he ran….”

Wukong had a guilty look on his face. “So he’s just gone… I shouldn’t have said anything…. Are you seriously telling me you two couldn’t figure it out? I really shouldn’t have said anything…”

“No… he looks completely different and acts differently! I didn’t think he was… I just thought he was a huge fan. How was I supposed to know the freeloader was master?”

“I always assumed by your flirting that you two knew,” Sandy stated.

“FL-FLIRTIN’?” Pigsy stammered. “WE NEVER FLIRTED!” He sighed. “Not like it matters… he’s gone…”

Wukong sucked a breath in. “Then let’s go find him…. He wouldn’t have run away if I just kept quiet…”

“Where could he be…” The pig pondered on this. “OUR APARTMENT!” He ran out of the shop and towards the direction of the apartment, the three giving him wide-eyed looks before following.

* * *

The pig practically slammed open their apartment door and rushed inside. He was out of breath but he worried, he frantically looked around. Where was Tang? They needed to talk. Oh please, please let Tang be here. He wasn’t in the living room. Pigsy ran into the kitchen, not in the kitchen either. UGH, OF COURSE, HIS ROOM! He turned the knob to Tang’s bedroom. “TANG!” He shouted and opened the door. He smiled nervously as he looked inside, expecting to see his master but there was nothing.

The small bookshelves that used to be full of books were now empty. Clothes were hastily taken, some being left behind in a crumpled mess on the floor, a cardboard box that was placed near the closet was without its lid, whatever was in it had been grabbed. Tang’s charger was gone, the demon dug through the scholar’s bedside drawers, whatever was in them was gone as well.

Pigsy stumbled back, he pulled out his phone and called Tang. “Pick up, pick up,” he begged. The phone rang. “Please pick up.” He waited for Tang to answer yet all he got was ‘We’re sorry. The number you called can not be reached at this time, leave a message after the beep. beep’ Shit. “TANG! MASTER! Ya better call me back, please call me back. Please… where are you?” The pig asked in a desperate tone, worry lacing his voice. He pressed the end call button and sat down on the floor. He buried his face in his hands, he started shaking. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, please be okay.”

The three came into the apartment minutes after that. They searched for where Pigsy might be until they spotted the open bedroom door and walked in. The pig was still shaking.

Wukong patted his back. “Could you find anything?”

Pigsy responded, “No. It’s all gone. He’s gone.”

“There must be a clue.”

“Don’t ya fuckin’ see? He’s fuckin’ gone!” He pushed Wukong away. “This is all your fault! He could be kidnapped! What if he’s hurt?”

“We’ll find him, Wuneng. He took all his stuff with him so he’s fine at the moment.”

MK exclaimed, “What if something did happen to him?”

“Don’t worry, bud. He’s fine…”

Wujing yelled, “WHAT IF MASTER WAS KIDNAPPED AND NOW HE’S ALL ALONE?”

Wukong sighed. “He’s fine. He just took his stuff, if he was kidnapped then I would just save him again.” He emphasized on “again.” He was going to be the only brain cell of the group again, wasn't he? “We can find him. So where did you meet him at, Pigsy?”

“In my shop…” he answered, staring at the ground and contemplating how he just drove his master away. “He was always visiting, bothering me about free noodles and stuff.”

“Where did he live before you moved in together?”

“I have no idea. I don’t know.” He gasped. “I don’t know! How the fuck could I not know? Gods, what if somethin’ happened to him?”

“He’ll… he’ll be fine. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” the monkey tried to reassure but his eyes widened as different situations popped in his head about what happened to his master. Wukong let out a deep breath. “We have to split up and find him.”

Pigsy nodded and swallowed roughly. “Yea, we should do that.”

Wujing commented, “Maybe it is better to look for master at night.”

“What? What are ya talkin’ about? We have to find him now!” Pigsy demanded, glaring at his younger brother, how dare Wujing suggest that? What if Tang was hurt? He could never forgive himself if something happened to Tang, Tang was his everything even before he knew who he truly was.

The monkey king pondered on this. “He’s right. It would be more strategic to look for master when it is broad daylight.”

The pig scowled, “What if we find him in the morning and he’s dead? What would you do then, smart guys?” MK whimpered at the thought of something happening to his bába, Wukong squinted his eyes at his younger brother and patted MK’s back.

Wukong gave the kid a small smile. “Don’t worry, kid. Master has been on his own without us for a couple of centuries and he’s been fine. We can search for him tomorrow, Bajie then we can come up with a plan on where to look.”

Bajie glared at him. “Fine… kid, ya can stay here for tonight. Too late for ya to go out.”

“You sure, Pigsy?”

“I’m sure. Better for ya to stay here. Ya could sleep on,” he gestured to Tang’s bed, “sleep in Tang’s bed or my bed.”

MK bit his lip. “I’ll take the couch.”

“Nonsense, kid. Ya can sleep here.”

“I don’t want to touch bába’s room without him here.”

“Then use my bed.”

“Pa-”

“No buts kid. Not lettin’ ya sleep on the couch.”

“Okay, papa.”

“Good.” He turned to his brothers. “Ya two want to stay here?”

Wukong shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll go to my mountain then come back. Thanks though, bro.”

“Tch. Sandy?”

Sandy shook his head as well. “I’ll go on my boat, big brother. Thank you.”

“Alright. Let’s search for Tang in the morning then.”

The three nodded, Wukong and Wujing began to make their way to the front door of the apartment. Pigsy rubbed his face, he wanted to search for Tang now but they were probably right that they should search for him when it was easier. Xiaotian frowned at his papa’s tired expression. “You okay, papa?”

“I’m fine, kid. I’ll try and get ya a pair of clothes, okay?” Xiaotian nodded. “Good. Let’s say bye to them.” He walked to the front door with MK following far behind. “See ya two. Make sure to come to the shop by mornin’ so we can search for master.”

The brothers nodded. Wukong said, “We will. I’m sorry, Bajie. I’ll make it up to you.”

“Tch, whatever.”

Wukong frowned. “Bye.” He waved then left.

Wujing waved eagerly at his brothers. “We’ll find him, big brother, Bajie.”

“I hope so…”

Wujing patted him on the back and left as well. Pigsy closed the door with a sigh, he rubbed his forehead, he begged whatever god was listening that he could find his master. He turned to his kid. “Ya hungry?”

“I’m fine! Worried about Mr. Tang.”

“Me too, kid. I’ll get you some clothes from Tang’s room. He’s probably around your size.” 

He trudged to his master’s room, grabbing one of the clothes scattered on the floor, it was a red pajama shirt with gold accents, the fabric felt light in his hands. He pressed it up against his nose and sniffed, it smelt just like Tang. His mind filled with regret. What if they couldn’t find him? What if he had left the city at this point? It was unlikely but still! He placed it away from his nose and went back to the living room, he passed the shirt to MK. “Here ya go, kid. Go get changed in the bathroom.”

“Okay!” MK complied and went to the bathroom to change.

Pigsy flopped down onto the couch, he stared at his phone. He pressed the camera button and scrolled through the pictures, a lot of them were candid photos taken of him, Xiajiao and Xiaotian sometimes stole his phone and used it to take pictures. He scrolled picture after picture until he spotted one that made his heart thump. It was him in the front of the shop with Tang, for some reason, Xiajiao had wanted them to take a picture there. Tang had a hand on his hip, a big smile on his face, Pigsy right beside him with his arms crossed but a proud smile present. His hand was shaky, he rubbed a thumb over the image of Tang’s face. He scrolled to another one, it was still at the shop but Tang had an arm around the pig’s neck while the pig was blushing at the proximity. Pigsy kissed the photo of Tang. “I love ya, I’ve always loved ya and I’ll find ya. I’m sorry…” He went through his favorites list and found Tang’s. He clicked it, it buzzed then went to that stupid voicemail message again, he growled.

He threw his phone aside on one of the cushions and buried his face in his hands. He messed up big time, his chest ached, he wanted to slap himself. He should have said something, the thought of his master all alone stung. Wukong was right, Tang had been doing fine without him but the feeling of worry wouldn’t die down along with the burning anger he felt towards himself. How long had his master- Tang, how long had he felt this way about him? Then another feeling appeared in his chest making him feel even more confused, that feeling was joy. He remembered how much his eyes used to sparkle when his master so much as gazed at him, his heart beating with every word that came out from his master’s lips, how desperately he wanted his attention back then. It was ridiculous how much stupid stuff he did in the past to get Tang to notice him even Tang scolding him when he had gotten them in trouble made him smile, he would do anything to make sure his master never looked at Wukong. To him, Wukong was his greatest rival for their master’s affections, the monkey was his master’s hero, always saving Tang from anything. Tang would pat Wukong’s head after a job well done and jealousy would build up in him until he exploded, all he wanted was for his master to love him, love him like he loved Wukong.

Pigsy let out a slight laugh, he felt like an idiot now. He never had to do any of that stuff, did he? Tang had loved him this entire time and he was so blind to it. Every detail Tang had told their son about Pigsy was said with so much love, how did he not notice? He thought back to the journey, his master always gave him bright smiles that he could now tell were full of passion, the little light touches filled with desire. They both wanted each other yet it took him now only to see it. His mind drifted to how Tang was now, sarcastic comments and playful bickering always in their conversations, the Buddhist had gotten way better at expressing himself, no longer that shy and hesitant monk but a beautiful storyteller who loved to mess with the pig every chance he got, it was pleasant to see Tang become more comfortable with himself. Then Pigsy’s heart shattered into pieces, the Buddhist had left and it was all his fault. He should have said something like “Hey master. Crazy how we both met up again at random.” Would that have been a good starting point? Anything would have been better than the silence he left Tang with.

“Pigsy?” MK’s voice broke him out of his thoughts.

He stared at the kid who had changed into Tang’s pajama shirt. “Yea?”

“Are you okay?” He sat down on the cushion to the left of his dad.

“No, kid. I’m not,” he replied with a sigh.

“Is Mr. Tang going to be alright?”

“I hope.”

MK fidgeted in his seat, a question forming in his mind. “Ummm… so you didn’t know that Tang was Tripitaka?”

Pigsy nodded his head in confirmation. “No, didn’t know until recently.”

“I can’t believe my dads are two legendary figures! It’s amazing!”

Pigsy chuckled. “Yea, it is. Ya are somethin’ special, kid.” He ruffled his child’s hair, MK laughed and tried to wave his hand away.

“Papa!”

“What? I’m just tellin’ the truth.”

“You’re messing up my hair!”

“Your hair is already wild enough. Me messin’ with it isn’t going to do much.”

“Still!”

He removed his hand from MK’s hair. “Alright, alright. There you go.” They had smiles on their faces before the reality of Tang’s disappearance set in again.

“Will we find him?”

“We will, kid. It’s just gonna take time. Big brother is right, master has been on his own for a long time. He’ll be okay.” He tried to give MK a bright smile but it came out as forced, the kid raised an eyebrow at him. “He should be okay. He has to be…”

“I hope…” Xiaotian closed his mouth a few times then opened it again to ask “I… ummm… what are you going to do after we find him?”

“Talk to ‘im, of course. Talk to ‘im about everythin’. I can’t believe I never noticed.”

“Well, he does act differently, you couldn’t have known, papa.”

“I should have, I should have seen the signs.”

“Papa…”

Pigsy shook his head. “Come on, kid. Off to bed with ya.”

“Right now? I’m an adult, not a kid, can’t I stay up a bit longer?”

“No. You might be an adult but you’re still my kid. The sooner ya go to bed the sooner we can find Tang.”

“Okay…” Xiaotian went from the couch to make his way to Pigsy’s room. Pigsy followed close behind him. “Papa, I can put myself to bed.”

“I know, kid. Just want to make sure you’re comfy.” 

Xiaotian rolled his eyes and entered Pigsy’s room, various picture frames hung up on the walls, one of the pictures was the same as the one he had in his shop while most others were of his family. The pig’s closet was wide open, he was rushing to work this morning and forgot to close it. A box was left inside, both MK and Bajie stared at it, the pig desperately trying to keep the box out of his kid’s sight.

“What’s that?” MK asked as he pointed at the box.

“Nothin’,” he replied, trying to scoot the box further into the closet.

“Pigsy.”

“Just some stuff from the journey, nothin’ much.”

The kid gasped. “Can I see?”

The pig sighed. “Sure.” He opened up the box, the contents contained his old clothes and trinkets he and the others had collected. One of them was a small blue flower, it wasn’t much but Tang gave it to him at the halfway point of their journey. He said “it matched his beautiful eyes” and then handed it to him with Bajie blushing and biting his lip to prevent purrs from escaping.

“Wow! Is that your old outfit?”

“Yea, it is, kid.”

“Can you wear it? It would be cool!” MK’s eyes sparkled as he gazed expectantly at his dad.

“Maybe later, kid.” Pigsy stared at the trinkets, memories of the journey setting in and memories of Tang. “Go to bed first.”

MK frowned. “Okay…” 

He took a deep breath, he hated seeing his kid upset. “After we find Tang, okay?”

“Okay!”

Pigsy shook his head smiling and put the box away, closing the closet door. MK went under the covers, observing the room. Pigsy grinned at his kid, tucking him in and kissing his forehead, the kid giggled. “Get some rest, kid. We’ll find bába in the mornin’.”

“Okay. Love you, papa.”

“Love you too, kid.” He kissed Xiaotian’s forehead again. He went towards the doorway, glancing one last time at his kid and turning off the lights. He sighed to himself and closed the door, making his way to the living room.

Pigsy closed his eyes and stared at his phone. He called Tang again, no answer. He stomped his feet to the door, he couldn’t wait until morning. He needed to find him now. He picked up his keys and walked out.

Pigsy shivered as he stepped into the night, he had been searching for an hour, it was cold. He should have grabbed a jacket before he left but he knew MK would follow him if he did. The usually busy street was now empty, save the rare car passing buy, the lights of the city illuminated the street. “Damn it!” He screamed. He took the phone from his pocket, might as well try it again. The phone buzzed and then nothing like the last few times he tried it. Maybe a text would work, he texted “Tang, where are you?” He sent it and waited a few minutes with baited breath, he growled, there was no answer. “Please answer me.” Still nothing. “Please, we’re worried. Text me if you get this please.” Nothing again. “I love you.” He was about to press send then he thought to himself, it was better if he said this in person. He deleted it and sighed.

Snow fell as he began making his way to the apartment, he held his hand to catch some of the snowflakes, his hands becoming increasingly colder as he did so. He wanted to show Tang this if- when they found him, they could have a beautiful date, making snowmen and drinking hot cocoa if Tang wanted to see him at all that is. He screwed up and he couldn’t blame Tang if he never wanted to see him again. Guess he would have to cross that bridge when he got to it. He made his way back to the apartment, warming himself up with hot chocolate then flopping down on the couch with a blanket. He stared up at the ceiling, yea, he would cross that bridge when got to it.

* * *

Wukong surveyed the area on his cloud, a frown on his face. He had spent all morning searching for Tang and so far, he hadn’t had much luck and neither had everyone else. Xiajiao had been informed of the situation when she showed up at the shop, she tried to use the camera she had placed on the Buddhist to find him but it appears Tang had smashed it, Wukong would have smiled on how smart his master had become if he wasn’t panicking inside.

Bajie was still mad at him for revealing their identities and making fun of them when it was clear they were confused, guilt bubbling in his chest. He should have handled it a better way, he wanted to make it up to both of them, maybe finally getting together would be enough. He observed a store when the glasses-wearing monk stepped outside, a book under his arm. The monkey king let out an excited noise, he shapeshifted into a bird, his wings flapping up and down as he made his way to his master. 

Tang’s eyes widened as the bird came towards him, oh no. He looked frantically around and ran, pushing past people on the street. Wukong sighed, did his master think he could outrun him? No matter how fast Tang ran, the bird followed him until they were side by side. The Buddhist’s legs were giving in, he went behind an alley, clutching the wall and breathing heavily. His disciple transformed back to his original form and glared at his master unimpressed.

“You done?” The monkey king asked. Tang wheezed. “I’ll give you a minute.”

The Buddhist panted until he finally regained his breath. “Wukong, how did you find me?”

The monkey rolled his eyes. “With my cloud.”

“Makes sense. Ummm… are you going to convince me to go back?”

“What do you think?”

Tang sighed. “I suppose that is a yes then. I’m not ready to go back so soon.”

“Master, I’m sorry for laughing at you earlier. I should have let you and Bajie sort out this whole thing without laughing.”

“I can see why you laughed, I would have done the same thing and it’s not.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s Pig- Bajie. I’m scared to face him. I didn’t even realize it was him!”

Wukong chuckled. “Which is pretty stupid, I mean how many pig demons out there are named Pigsy?”

“Fair point. I thought it was a coincidence!”

“How?!”

“I don’t know,” he replied and rubbed his arm. “I am an idiot! I told him I felt about him and everything to his face! And now, he’ll want to talk to me ever again.”

“Why do you think that, master?”

Tang screamed, “Because he didn’t say anything! I told him every bit of how he felt about him when I was telling Xiaotian our stories, I told him how cool I thought he was, how much I missed him, how strong he was, I even told him how much I love his beautiful blue eyes.” He gave a dreamy sigh. “His eyes always made me swoon, no wonder I gave in so much.” He shook his head. “I told him everything, Wukong! And then he didn’t say anything and glared at me, I know he doesn’t feel the same way, he probably hates me by now.”

“Quite the opposite, master. You didn’t see how he was after you left. He ran the entire way to your apartment to see if you were there. He loves you.”

“I doubt that. He’s only ever flirted with women. You didn’t see how much he fell to the spider queen’s charms.” He chuckled. “He’s never looked at me the way I look at him. Heh, he would probably go for everyone else before he went for me.”

Wukong facepalmed, his master was an idiot. “He loves you, you stupid monk. It is so freaking obvious. He always loved you.”

“No, he doesn’t! He clearly doesn’t like me!”

Wukong growled, “I will show you every evidence that says otherwise you stupid monk!” He reached in his fur to pull out a piece of paper, he unfolded it and the paper turned out to be a mile long. 

Tang gawked at it. “Wait, why do you have that?”

The monkey shrugged. “I got bored,” he commented, “you do know the amount of time he’s looked at you could be a drinking game, right? Wujing and I used to drink when you weren’t looking and we were taking a break.” Tang narrowed his eyes at him, a bead of sweat appeared on the monkey’s face. “Uhhhh, it was water?”

“It better have been! I will have a talk with you and him later!”

The monkey nervously laughed. “Okay, but about you and Bajie.” He showed him the list. “I wrote a bunch of stuff.”

Tang took it and began reading. Things like “Bajie won’t stop blushing when he stares at master,” “Bajie got me in trouble again to get master’s attention,” “younger brother gave master a necklace,” and many other instances of how Pigsy felt for him. He spluttered, a blush appearing on his face. He shoved the list back into Wukong’s hands, looking away and trying to hide his red face.

Wukong smirked as he hid it back into his fur. “Do you believe me?”

“I- I… how do you know this wasn’t just your imagination?”

“I know it wasn’t my imagination, everyone who spends a few minutes with you two can tell how much you feel about each other.”

“Yea, right.” Tang had a hard time believing it but deep down, a part of him knew it was true, Pigsy loved him yet he was terrified, what if Wukong was wrong? He didn’t want to cling onto false hope only to be handed brutal rejection when Pigsy inevitably found him.

“Master, you know what.” He contemplated on what to say, he could drag Tang to Pigsy, although it might make things worse. “At least go back for your kids. They miss you, the kid wouldn’t stop whimpering this morning and his friend was horrified to learn you destroyed the camera.”

“What? Are they okay?”

“No, they miss you. If you can’t talk to Pigsy, at least go and see them.”

Tang bit his lip and tapped his foot. Should he? What if the kids dragged him to Pigsy? He prayed they wouldn’t, he wasn’t ready to see him just yet. He closed his eyes and thought back to his kids, their sad faces popping in his mind, he hated it, he hated seeing them upset. As long as he didn’t have to face the pig then he should be fine, his chest ached, he had no idea when he was going back to him if he made the decision to go back at all, but he needed some time to think and breathe, to give the pig time to process how Tang felt about him. He already missed him, the grumbling that came from him every time the Buddhist managed to get a bowl of noodles from MK, the way he acted so tough yet was the biggest softie ever, he missed all of it.

He would be lucky if he ever got that again. He wanted him and only him yet the pig never showed any sign of love towards him aside from what he read in Wukong’s list. The Buddhist didn’t count the list as definitive proof since Wukong could have an overactive imagination and could be wrong a lot of the time, surely Tang would have seen the signs if Bajie loved him, he wasn’t that oblivious anymore, right? No matter how much he thought back to their journey, he didn't see it. It was all moments of Pigsy flirting with gorgeous women and completely ignoring him, envy quelled up in his chest. His mind drifted back to the kids, their sad faces once again appearing, they were more important. He sucked in a breath.

He glanced at Wukong who watched him with a raised eyebrow. “Okay. I’ll see the kids but I won’t see Pigsy just yet, got it?”

“Got it,” the monkey replied.

“Second, can I stay with you for a few days? Can’t go back to my and Pigsy’s apartment just yet.”

Wukong nodded and smiled, his tail wagging. “Sure, master! It will be like old times sake! You can stay on my mountain for as long as you want!”

“Thank you, Wukong. I hope he forgives me…”

“Master, there is nothing to forgive. You did nothing wrong.”

“I did.”

Wukong growled, “No, you didn’t!”

“I did! I shouldn’t feel the way I do! Bajie deserves better.”

“There is no better. You’re the best choice out there.”

“No, I’m not! He deserves better than a coward, a freeloader who takes noodles from him every chance he gets.”

“Master, if you were really a coward then you would have abandoned the journey from the beginning and Pigsy has never kicked you out despite how much you steal from him, he cares about you.”

The Buddhist shook his head. “There are still better choices out there. He should have someone he actually loves.”

“He loves you, the list, remember?”

“You have good intentions, Wukong but how do you know you weren’t just mistaken?”

“Oh, my gods. Master, he loves you! It’s so obvious!” He was getting really tired of this. His master was so in denial, the signs were all there!

“Again, I doubt that. Let’s just… let’s just go to your mountain, okay? We can catch up there and I’ll call the kids when I get there.”

“Fine, fine.” The monkey summoned his cloud, he jumped on it and ate a bag of peach chips he had gotten from his fur. “Hop on.”

Tang licked his dry lips, he wrung his hands and his palms felt sweaty. “Do I have to? I think I can use Sandy’s boat to get there.”

Wukong cocked an eyebrow, turned away and shrugged. “Oh you could but you might have to go through the flaming mountains.” 

Tang winced, he swallowed dryly. “I’ll have Wujing with me, he could guide me and keep me safe.”

The monkey closed his eyes then opened one to gaze at his master, a smile dancing on his lips. “True, Wujing could take you there but who’s to say that when you make it to his boat that you won’t encounter Pigsy? I mean that would be just _awful_. Wouldn’t it?”

The scholar blinked excessively trying to process it then he bolted onto the cloud. “Okay, let’s go! You’ve convinced me! Just don’t go too fast, please.”

The monkey laughed. “You got it, master! Need anything before we leave?”

“Hmmmm.” His phone rang, he glanced at the contact, his heart dropped, it was Pigsy again. He let it go to voicemail. “Nope! Let’s go!”

“Alright, if you’re sure,” he stated then they were off, floating farther and farther away from Pigsy and away from pain.

* * *

Pigsy stepped towards his brother’s waterfall home. It had been a few days since he had been informed that Tang was staying at Flowers and Fruit Mountain. He heard from the kids that Tang had called them and Sandy, that hurt. Was Tang that determined to avoid him? He wanted to apologize, he had a lot of time to think on what he should do. He was going to apologize, tell Tang that he loved him then they would go on a nice first date together, it was going to be perfect. Hopefully his adorable master wanted to see him.

He continued trudging through the mountain. It had been a long time since he had been here and a lot has changed. Everything looked so different, it wasn’t bad, just different. He searched around for Tang, approaching the area near his brother’s waterfall cave home. He spotted his brother floating on his cloud and eating his peach chips. Some of his brother’s monkey subjects were in a weird pile for some reason… the pig shook his head.

Pigsy asked, “Where’s Tang?”

Wukong rolled his eyes. “Nice to see you too, dear brother.”

“Where’s Tang?” He repeated. Wukong gestured to the pile of monkeys. “What?”

“Under the monkeys,” he said as if it was obvious.

“What?” He cocked his eyebrow.

“You heard me.” He gestured to the pile again.

The pig sighed and walked to the pile, now that he looked at it, it seemed as if the monkeys were trying to comfort Tang. The pig cleared his throat. “Uh, Tang?”

There was a small gasp that came from the pile. Tang jumped up randomly, a monkey left on his head, his glasses slightly crooked. “Pig-Pigsy! Uhhh, hi?” He felt a baby monkey on his head and let them down gently, he gave the chef a nervous smile and fixed his glasses.

The chef blushed. “He-hey.” He turned to Wukong. “Give us some fuckin’ privacy, will ya?”

Wukong hissed at him, “This is my mountain, I can do what I want! Plus this is like a drama, I’m actually invested in this. Just pretend like I’m not even here.”

Tang warned, “Wukong… please give us some privacy.”

“Yes, master. Let’s go, my monkeys.” He floated inside into his house with the baby monkeys following, the pig and monk’s eyes on him as he left. They let out a sigh of relief, now they could talk without an audience, what they didn’t see was Wukong turn into a fly and exit the home to spy on them.

“So… we’re alone now…” Tang mumbled.

“Y-yeah. Tang...”

“Pigsy...” They looked away from each other. Tang had crafted a whole apology in his head earlier and as he tried to say it, no words came out, his mind spinning. A part of him was trying to find the perfect time to escape. 

Pigsy took a deep breath. “Well ya see… I came here to y’know… and… and…” He rubbed his face. “Fuck. When you first ran… I….” Ugh, why was it so hard to apologize? Tang swallowed and nodded blankly.

Wukong was going to facepalm. They were so hopeless. He didn’t watch them pine for fourteen plus years for them to still be oblivious! It was ridiculous! He was hoping they had gotten together when he had been gone but alas, he was always the braincell. He transformed into his normal form and dropped that list he made long ago in front of them. It hit the floor with a slight thud, the two jumping back into surprise, their eyes widened as they stared at Wukong. 

Wukong expressed, “You two are idiots. Make me the best man at your wedding and we’ll call it even.” He backed away slightly, floating on his cloud and eating a peach.

Tang paled. Oh no, the list! When reading it, he had seen some stuff written down on how he felt about Bajie, if the pig read that list he was going to get more harshly rejected! He hastily reached for the list but unfortunately, Pigsy was way quicker than he was. Pigsy’s eyes glazed over the list, his cheeks burning, of anger or embarrassment, Tang couldn’t tell. The Buddhist backed up, prepared to run. 

Pigsy glanced at him with hopeful eyes. “Tang, I’m sorry. I should have said something to ya. I shouldn’t have kept quiet like that. I-”

Tang cut him off by blurting out, “No, it’s fine! I get it! You… you were processing the whole thing and… and… I should have never told MK how much I felt about you.”

“Tang…”

“I mean it’s ridiculous, right? Your master who you didn’t even know was with you starts spouting on about how much he’s in love with you… and you have no idea because of how he kept his identity quiet.”

“Tang…” Pigsy repeated.

The Buddhist ignored him and gave a bitter laugh. “Then Wukong comes back, revealing both your and his identity then you realize your stupid, cowardly master has been in love with you all along… even though you’ve only ever looked at women… and… and not him.” Tears fell down Tang’s face as he let out another bitter laugh. “It’s horrifying, right? To know that this idiot is in love with you, the same stupid freeloader that has been bothering you has feelings for you. You don’t have to love me… I’m okay with being just your friend… if you want that at all. You don’t have to like it because I’m your master, there is no obligation. Just please don’t cut me out of your life.”

Bajie stomped his feet, his fists clenched. How dare his master speak so lowly of himself? He wasn’t cowardly, he was brave and kind and oh so sweet. All Pigsy ever wanted to be was his equal, to be good enough to be by his side for all of eternity, good enough to hold his hand and kiss him. All he wanted was to be good enough. His master was always the best of them, there was no doubt about that. He glared at Tang for thinking that way of himself when he had always been the best one. Tang whimpered and the pig sighed. 

“I’m so-sorry, Pigsy. You have every right to be mad. I deserve it. Actually… I’m- I’m fine if you want to cut me out of your life as long as you’re happy. You don’t have to like me back.”

Bajie smacked himself in the face and yelled, “What if I want to like ya back?!”

Tang paused, tears still flowing. He sniffled and stuttered, “Wait what?”

The pig smacked himself in the face again. “I’ve always liked ya.”

“WAIT WHAT?”

“You really are oblivious, aren't ya? I thought it was obvious and ya were just never interested.”

“Huh? Well then… I’m- I’m an idiot…”

Wukong shouted “YES YOU ARE!”

Pigsy growled at his oldest brother. “Shaddup Monkey!!”

The monkey glared at him. “HEY! You shut up! Do you know how long I've had to deal with this? 14 freaking years! Plus centuries,” he added.

“Go away! We’re tryin’ to have convo!”

Tang whispered, “How did I never notice-”

Wukong replied, “BECAUSE YOU’RE OBLIVIOUS, MASTER!”

Pigsy threw a rock at him but Wukong dodged easily. “Shaddup! Go away!”

Tang laughed. “You really had me there for a second, Bajie.”

Pigsy turned to his master. “Huh?”

“Please don’t lie to me… it’s so obvious you don’t feel the same way. No matter how much I look back, I can’t see it. I can’t see any indication of you feeling the same way for me.” The Buddhist wrapped his arms around himself. “I don’t even get why you would feel the same.” He didn’t want to glance at Wuneng’s beautiful blue eyes so he stared at a wall, his mind hazy. Wukong grimaced and decided it was time to actually leave them alone to discuss their feelings in peace.

Wuneng’s mouth was agape. He took small steps towards the Buddhist. He put two fingers under Tang’s chin, lifting it gently and making Tang look towards him but the scholar refused to glance at him, his eyes still focused on the wall. “Hey, look at me.” The unusually gentle tone made him gaze directly into his eyes.

Tang swallowed roughly. “Ye-yea?”

“Do ya really think that way about yourself?” The scholar wouldn’t answer. “You’re beautiful, ya know? Even now, gods, you’re so beautiful. I hate hearin’ ya talk that way about yourself.”

“I- I’m sorry… you should go if you don’t want to hear me talk.”

The pig shook his head. “I never said that. I love hearin’ ya talk. I just don’t like ya talkin’ bad about yourself. Do ya really think you’re stupid and cowardly?” Tang nodded. “I can’t imagine why. Ya were always the smartest one out of us. Sure, ya got captured a whole bunch, no thanks to me but ya were smart in a lot of other ways. And cowardly, ha! Far from it, ya had no powers and were only human yet ya stuck out until the end.” He wiped away Tang’s tears. “Ya made us into better people.”

“I didn’t do much…”

“Ya did everythin’. Ya tried your hardest and it paid off. I was so lucky that I was chosen to be by your side, if not, I would have never been allowed back to Heaven. Ya were my redemption. No matter how selfish and immature I was, ya were patient. I got us into so much shit and yet ya didn’t throw me out.”

“Because I lo- like you and I knew you were capable of changing.”

“I’m glad. I’m glad ya kept me around. Because from the moment we met, I was yours, I just didn’t know it yet.” He kissed Tang’s forehead, a blush forming on the Buddhist’s cheeks. “I’m sorry I let ya think I hate you. I was tryin’ to process the whole thing, I should have talked to ya. I can’t believe you’ve been with me all along. It’s rather lucky. I missed ya so much and to have ya with me this entire time, I got lucky.

“Pig-”

“Before ya say I'm doin' this to spare your feelings, I'm not. Ya know I'm not like that, examine me and tell me if I'm lyin'.”

Tang swallowed, he gazed at every part of the pig to see if he was lying then shifted his focus back onto the pig's eyes and when he looked at them, he saw only love. He beamed, Pigsy really did love him. “It’s okay. I should have said something too. I can’t believe you feel the same way… a coincidence for us to be all brought together again.”

“Not a coincidence, it’s fate. Of course, I love you. Ya kept me around after all.”

“How could I not? You were helpful in your own way, charming to a fault. I just always thought you’d rather flirt with women than me…”

“I always thought ya loved Wukong, that’s why I… Y’know…”

“Love Wukong? Never, I’ve only ever loved you. It’s like you said, from the moment we met, you were mine and I was yours.”

“So ya believe me?”

“Yes, I do.” He cupped the pig’s face. “I believe you.”

“Good.” He grinned. “I’m glad. So ummm…”

“Hm?”

“Can I kiss ya?”

Tang turned beat red. “Of- of course you can!”

Pigsy went on his tippy toes, wrapping his arms around Tang’s waist, he leaned in and closed his eyes. Tang did the same and their lips connected, them clinging to each other as they both deepened the kiss. The kiss contained so many years of pining seeping out, passion running through them as they ran their hands through each other until finally separating to breath. They looked deeply into each other’s eyes, both of their cheeks flushed.

“Wow,” Tang exclaimed.

“Ye-yea, wow. Was that good?”

“It was more than good.” He smooched his cheek. “It was perfect.”

“G-good. I-I’m glad.”

“I love you.”

“I love ya too. Ummm… do ya want to go back home with me? We can talk more about stuff there. Sandy is waitin’ for us.”

“Yes! I would love to go home with you.”

“Good. We can talk over a bowl of noodles.”

Tang gasped. “Does this mean I get free noodles?!”

Pigsy chuckled in response. “Yea, sure but just this once.”

“Yay! Let’s go!”

“Okay, my dear master.”

Tang smooched him. “My dear Bajie. I can’t wait to see what our future holds.”

“Me either. I love ya so much.”

“I love you too. I’m yours.”

“And I’m yours.”

They kissed one final time then left Wukong’s home together, cuddled up against each other as they made their way to the boat. Wukong watched them, a smile on his face. He was glad he was there to watch the relationship blossom, they loved each other and he couldn’t wait to be the best man. He would make sure nothing would interfere in their perfect relationship.


End file.
